How to Get Research on Campus

Hey y’all! As we progress into week 5 of the fall semester, it seems like everyone is trying to find research positions around campus. I’m so excited to be working in Professor Ronney’s lab this year with Samantha Kaplan. We’re working on designing microscale heat exchangers that we will run combustion reactions in. This research is awesome because we’re working back and forth between two labs, not just one. On the one hand, we are building everything in a 3D printing lab on campus that is designing 3D printers that are able to print with metals, and on the other hand, we’re working in the combustion lab testing our designs and seeing how well they run. I love doing research, and I think that it is something everyone should do during their undergraduate years at USC, so I figured I’d tell you a few ways to get involved with research!

1.Talk to your professors:

The professors at USC are awesome because they really want students to get as involved as possible during their time here, and many of them are doing their own research at the university as well as teaching our classes. You can go online and see if your professors are doing any research, read about it, and if one seems interesting, go talk to your professor about joining them! Professors love having help in their labs, so reach out to them

2. Visit USC’s undergraduate research website

USC has a website specifically for undergraduate research. This is actually how I got my research position because I’m working under a mechanical engineering professor, so I haven’t had any classes with him. I went to this website: http://www.usc.edu/programs/ugprograms/ugresearch/ and looked at the various on campus opportunities. When I found a few I liked, I would fill out the information on the website, which would then be sent to the professors. If the professors are interested in having you work for them, they’ll email you back. It’s that easy!

I hope you consider using one of these two methods to get involved in research during your time on campus. It’s a fantastic way to get hands on experience and to apply what you are learning in the classroom!